Professor: Coleman, Stein and Waage Course format: Lecture w/Lab Number of respondents: 258 Total Enrollment: 295 Class Composition: Froshs: 240 Sophs: 32 Jrs: 13 Srs: 10 Concs: 50 Non-Concs: 110 Don't Know: 95

Instructor Average: 2.94 Course Average: 2.64

'Foundations of Living Systems,' aims to provide its students with an understanding of the basic principles of biology and how they relate to our environment. There was no formal prerequisite for this class, but students pointed out that exposure to biology in high school would be very helpful. Students with AP Biology credit should not take this class.

This class was team taught by Professors Coleman, Stein, and Waage. Respondents had very different opinions of each of the professors. Professor Waage was described as very open to students and extremely enthusiastic, yet some students complained about his disorganized lectures. Professor Stein was praised for his clear and organized lecture style, and students raved about his ability to explain difficult concepts in a simple, understandable manner. However, a few students thought that he tried to cover too much material at one time. Professor Coleman received negative reviews from the respondents. Students reported that her disorganized lecture style and her insensitivity to the class's level of understanding made learning difficult. It was a general consensus that the the course could have been better with a more effective integration of the team teaching.

Respondents indicated that they put in about 5 hours of work per week. The course load consisted of textbook readings, 3 midterm exams (out of which the worst one was dropped), lab assignments, and a final exam. While some regarded this class as not as challenging as they had expected, the majority of the students complained that the exams were very difficult. They advise future students to attend all lectures, instead of relying solely on the textbook, because lecture materials were emphasized in the exams. Lectures were held during reading period.

When asked whether they were glad to have taken the course, respondents gave mixed answers. Some students were glad because they learned a lot about biology, a field that they may be getting into during their careers at Brown. However, a substantial portion of the class did not enjoy BI 20 and thought that it may have been better with a different teaching setup. If you are a Biology concentrator or pre-med, chances are you have to take this class. But beware of who is teaching it.

View BI/0020 in the Brown Online Course Announcement.